Zhuldyz Amankulova, PhD

I am currently a Post-Doctoral Associate at the UMN College of Education and Human Development (CEHD). My expertise encompasses comparative and international education, higher education, sociology of education, educational leadership, and intercultural education. As a bi-discoursal scholar with experience in both U.S. and Kazakh intellectual traditions, I am particularly interested in merging these ways of knowing to re- examine theory and build methods for education research in post-socialist contexts. This interest reflects my dedication to academic decolonization, challenging imperial ideologies and colonial relations to identify and address issues of access and equity in higher education.

Building on my personal and professional experiences of witnessing significant disparities in education and career opportunities through attending both rural and urban schools, elite and non-elite universities, in my doctoral dissertation, I studied how students’ transitions into and out of the university can be structured to maximize academic and career success, especially for marginalized youth. I identified and explained socioeconomic factors that facilitate or constrain educational and career aspirations of youth from marginalized backgrounds. Specifically, I drew on life history narratives of youth from rural or lower socioeconomic backgrounds who had graduated from prestigious universities in Kazakhstan to examine how the graduates used social capital in pursuing their education and career. My research makes significant theoretical contributions by challenging the centrality of western notions about social capital while highlighting circumstances that improve retention and employment of marginalized youth.

I have a strong record of research and publications and a proven track record of securing external grant funding as well as over eight years of experience teaching and developing program curricula at the higher education level in Kazakhstan and the U.S. In addition, I am the mother of three young boys. I love getting to know new people from different backgrounds and enjoy attending and facilitating cross cultural events with my family.

Awards, fellowships, and grants

• UMN CEHD Global Signature Grant: Education for sustainable development in Higher Education, 2022-2023
• Grant-in-Aid, OVPR and Laura Jane Musser Fund Intercultural Harmony Initiative Grant: Portraits of Home: Documenting the changing landscape of Minnesota’s fasting growing county, 2021-2023
• UMN Race, Indigeneity, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Dissertation Proposal Fellowship, 2019 
• Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship, University of Minnesota, 2022-2023
• Cogan Graduate Research Fellowship, College of Education and Human Development, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, 2021
• American Council for International Education’s US-Kazakhstan University Partnerships Program Grant: English Language Integration in Higher Education Pedagogy: A Partnership Between M. Auezov South Kazakhstan University (SKU) and University of Minnesota, 2020-2021
• Frank R. Braun Fellowship, College of Education and Human Development, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, 2020

University service

CEHD Faculty Search Committee, 2023

CEHD Graduate student parents and caregiver’s support, 2020-current

• creating an alliance to advocate for supporting graduate student parents and caregivers in CEHD in collaboration with two other fellow graduate students

Vice President of Communication, 2016-2017

• GradSEHD, College of Education and Human Development

Professional service

CIES New Scholars Committee, 2020-2021

CIES Eurasia Special Interest Group—Secretary, 2019-2021